Mycoestrogen pollution of Italian infant food.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the concentrations of zearalenone and its metabolites in the leading brands of infant formula milks and meat-based infant foods commonly marketed in Italy, and to assess their repercussion in the provisional tolerable daily intakes of these estrogenic mycotoxins. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 185 cow's milk-based infant formulas and 44 samples of meat-based infant foods samples were analyzed. The analysis of mycotoxins was performed by immunoaffinity column clean-up and high-pressure liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. RESULTS: Zearalenone was detected in 17 (9%) milk samples (maximum 0.76 µg/L). The α-zearalenol was detected in 49 (26%) milk samples (maximum 12.91 µg/L). The ß-zearalenol was detected in 53 (28%) milk samples (maximum 73.24 µg/L). The α-zearalanol and ß-zearalanol were not detected in milk samples. Although α-zearalenol was detected in 12 (27%) meat samples (maximum 30.50 µg/kg), only one meat-based sample was contaminated by α-zearalanol (950 µg/kg). Zearalenone, ß-zearalenol, and ß-zearalanol were not detected in meat samples. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the presence of mycoestrogens in infant (milk-based and meat-based) food, and this is likely to have great implications for subsequent generations, suggesting the need to perform occurrence surveys in this type of food.

High growth rate of girls with precocious puberty exposed to estrogenic mycotoxins.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that human puberty timing can be advanced by environmental estrogen exposure. STUDY DESIGN: We analyzed serum mycoestrogen contamination via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in 32 girls affected by central precocious puberty (CPP) and in 31 healthy female control subjects. All 32 patients received triptorelin (TR) for more than 12 months after diagnosis. RESULTS: Increased serum levels of zearalenone (ZEA; 933.7 +/- 200.3 pg/mL; 95% CI, 723.5-1143.9) and of its congener alpha-zearalenol (106.5 +/- 1.9 pg/mL; 95% CI, 104.5-108.5) contaminated 6 girls with CPP, who were from a bounded Tuscany area. At diagnosis, ZEA levels correlated with patient height (r = 0.906, P < .05) and weight (r = 0.887, P < .05), but not with bone age. In patients who were mycotoxin-positive, height (F = 4.192; P < .01), weight (F = 3.915; P < .01), and height velocity (F = 2.777, P < .05) were higher than patients who were mycotoxin-negative during 12-months TR treatment. Height correlated with weight both in patients who were mycotoxin-positive (r = 0.986, P < .001) and in patients who were mycotoxin-negative (r = 0.994, P < .001). Body mass index, bone age, and gonadal secretion was not different in patient groups before and during TR treatment (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: Mycoestrogenic zearalenone is suspected to be a triggering factor for CPP development in girls. Because of its chemical resemblance to some anabolic agents used in animal breeding, ZEA may also represent a growth promoter in exposed patients.